The Last Thing On Your Mind
by TurquoiseDots
Summary: Following the events on that beautiful day, Chloe has a lot on her mind. Here is the journey through the next week as she finds the all the answers to her list of questions from the people who she would never expect to ask.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

It's been a week since Alek and I had our fight. It's been a week since I died. It's been a week since Brian kissed me. It's been a week since that beautiful day.

**Monday**

Two days. It's only been two days, though it has felt like two years. Saturday was hell. I did nothing but lay in bed all day. My mom tried to help, bringing me food and asking if I needed anything. I just shook her off for the most part. Following those lonely twelve hours in bed was another lonely and long twelve hours of lying in bed. I couldn't sleep. I tossed and turned. I got up and paced back and forth in my room. I was restless. After midnight, my nerves kicked in. Is Brian going to be ok? Where is Alek and Jasmine? I climbed through my small white window and up to the roof, hoping that Alek would be there. I really needed to see him. With everything that happened a few days ago, I could see why he didn't want to be around me. Hell, even _I_ didn't want to be around me. For the rest of the night, I just sat on the cold, hard roof, legs pulled close to my chest, the cool San Francisco breeze blowing my blonde curly hair around me, alone. It was actually somewhat relaxing. I think that was one of the first times I have been relaxed in days. I can see why Alek likes to be up here alone sometimes. It's peaceful, quiet, and comforting. I looked around. No protecters? I thought Alek would have put someone in charge considering he wouldn't want to gaurd me after are little incident. Then it hit me. **Alek** was my protector. **He** took Jasmine's shifts so** he** could protect me. For once, he was all I could think about. Shouldn't I think about Brian after I just killed him? I let out a long sigh and stayed on the roof the rest of the night. The next day, it was basically the same routine, except I showered, changed clothing, and went downstairs. My Sunday was a long date with the couch and flat screen. By then, I think my mom got the point and left me alone, going off to do some business work and such. That night, I actually slept for a little bit. That is, until I woke up and went back onto the roof. I stayed there until I saw the sunrise. And now, here we are.

I told Amy that I wanted some alone time before school. Thank god I have such an understanding best friend. I walked to the coffee shop, picking up my daily cup of coffee. As I was walking to the door, I stopped. On one side of me was the table that Brian and I always sat at whenever we decided to eat inside. On the other side, was the entrance to Lana's store, the store where Brian punched Alek. The store where Alek didn't fight back. The store where Alek did anything and everything for me. God, why couldn't I stop thinking of him! With a last look at the exact spot where this little rendezvous happened, I quickly push open the glass door and start walking to school.

School was school. Nothing interesting really happened. The teachers taught lessons that no one cared about. They reminded us that state basketball was coming up considering it was the end of the quarter. No matter where it seems I go today, there is always something that reminded me of Alek. In this case, it was basketball. For the rest of class, I did nothing but sit there and daydream about him. Not daydream really, more like panic. We have the first four classes together and he wasn't in any of them. I had to investigate what was going on. Once the bell rang, signaling for lunch, I bolted up and sprinted out of the old, dusty yellow room out to my locker.

My bubble brunette of a best friend was already there. She smiled when she saw me, but it turned into a frown. Gee, thanks Amy.  
"Um, I didn't know you decided to go all gothic on me today," she said as I opened my locker.

"It's not gothic, just, expressing my mood is all." It wasn't a total lie, and I didn't think I looked gothic at all. I was wearing a black and white Aztec off the shoulder shirt, dark washed grey denim jeans, and black flats. My hair was in a side braid that came around the back of my head and to the front. As for make-up, I kept it natural. Light and angel like. The only dark think was the black mascara. Thinking about my outfit, I don't understand why Amy would believe that I'm going gothic on her.

"Mmmhmm, sure. I have to go meet Paul in the cafeteria. He's saving us a seat with his geek squad friends that he would like us to meet. I'll see you there." She started running down the hallway, turning back to give a slight wave. My faint smile turned into a mean scowl. I slapped the palm of my hand to my forehead.

"Damn it!" I said. I completely spaced out and forgot to ask about Alek and Jasmine. Focus Chloe.

Turning back to my locker, I finished up with stuffing my worn books in the the old yellow locker. Couldn't this school replace anything? Closing the door, I slightly turned around before I was jerked and pushe up against the wall. After closing my eyes (it's a natural reaction), I peeked open my left one, seeing a muscular, tan, sweaty hand of a guy I was assuming. The other hand was on my injured hip. Opening my other eye and moving my head from the side, I could see that the face of whom I believe was one of Alek's jocko basketball buddies. His face got closer to mine, going for the side. In his low, husky, raspy voice, he whispered, "I wanna find out what scared Petrov off so easily. He isn't afraid of girls, so you must be special. Wanna help me with that?" His hand next to my head moved as he brushed away a strand of hair with his now very sweaty hand. I shivered in disgust and looked at him.

"Can you please let me go? I'm really hungry and-." I felt his hand dig right into my waist. More specifically, dig into where I was shot. The air was knocked out of my lungs. My heart was beating out of my chest. It seemed like with each beat, his grip would tighten. The pain was unbearable. I closed my eyes and bit my lip, holding back the flow of tears that were sure to come and keep the wail of help from peeping out of me. I can't believe how helpless I am right now.

"Listen to me." The jock said furiously. "You will show me what you did to him. And if you don't, I will-."

Suddenly, I could breathe again. I fell to the floor, gasping for air like I was just underwater for hours. My eyes were wide open, staring at the cold hard tile floor. As for my ears, they were listening to the action going on next to me. There was a loud _BANG, _followed by a moan of pain. I heard bones cracking and breaking. I closed my eyes, afraid that I would look at the wrong moment and see a displeasing sight. The beating of the jock stopped. Slowly opening my eyes and turning my head, I saw the jocko get off the ground, holding his bright blood red nose. Blood was covering his shirt and a nice bruise was forming on his upper cheekbone. I watched as he sprinted away like an abused puppy to the nurse. I grabbed my bag off the ground, slipping it on around me as I stood up. I took one step when a strong, warm hand was placed of my bare shoulder. Turning to face the attacker, the last thing I expected was to be looking in these gorgeous, deep chocolate brown eyes that were ever so familiar to me. I drew in a shaky breath at the exact same moment the attacker said in that British voice of his, "Are you alright, Chloe?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

_I drew in a shaky breath at the exact same moment the attacker said in that British voice of his, "Are you alright, Chloe?"_

Finally the tears I was holding in came out. And boy did they come. I stood there in front of the guy who I thought would never speak to me again. The guy who I thought hated me. The guy that would do anything for me. The guy whose heart I broke. He pulled me to him, surrounding me with his warm, strong arms that I missed so much. I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face into his shoulder, crying my heart out. We stayed that way until the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. My tears stopped, and I pulled away, looking at him.

"I thought you hated me." I said. My voice was weak and frail from all the crying.

"I could never hate you Chloe. Yes, I was angry, but I have more important things to worry about than your relationship with you and your _human_." The way he said human was different today than any other time. Most of the time, it was like a carefree word that you would say every so often. Today, it was like he had acid in his mouth or something worse.

People started showing up and soon those once lonely hallways became crowded with students. I looked back to where Alek was standing, but he was gone. And I still didn't get to ask him where he was this morning. I let out a long sigh as I walk to my least favorite class of all: gym.

You might be wondering, "Oh Chloe, why would you hate gym class? You're Mai! Shouldn't it be easy for you?" Well, considering only Mais are allowed to know that I am Mai, I'm not allowed to use my abilities in that class. I'm pretty positive that Alek uses his powers though. After changing into my gym clothes, I walked into the large gymnasium. The teacher, Coach Nixon, started out with making us run our usually ten minutes run around the gym. Oh joy. I still don't understand the point of that. Are we supposed to count how many laps we run or see how many laps it takes us before we fall down because we are tired? I don't know. He let us get a quick drink after, so we headed to the hallway. People usually take this time to meet friends from other classes or text their boyfriends/girlfriends. For me, I usually meet Amy at my locker so we can gossip for a bit. I walked away from the gym, up the stairs, and around the corner to my locker. I was getting ready to turn around the next corner where my locker was when I heard some people talking. I stayed against the wall and used my Mai, well not really, hearing to listen to the conversation.

"Well he's dead. That's probably why she was crying this morning." I head the high voice say. _Amy._

"What do you mean he is dead? He can't be. That human was very much alive earlier that day." Only one person calls someone else human. _Alek_.

"He kissed Chloe and since she is-."

"KISSED! THAT BASTARD KISSED HER!" He was mad. More than mad. He was furious. I didn't have to see him to know that his eyes were probably in slits and his hands were in fists.

"Yeah. He thought Chloe was dead-."

"She died again too? What the hell Chloe! I told her to be more careful."

"Why are you asking me all of this and not Chloe?" I could tell that Amy was starting to get annoyed.

I heard a long sigh. "Because if I do, I'm going to have to explain that Jasmine and Valentina were attacked by Zane, who turned out to be my brother and is now with the rest of my family, and are in the hospital."

_What_? I couldn't listen anymore. I ran away back to the gym, trying to block out and forget everything I just heard.

They rest of the day was normal, much like the beginning. I went to classes that I didn't care about. I was reminded of the basketball game on Friday, and I was taught lessons and given homework. The day ended, finally. I couldn't stand the sight of seeing Amy or Paul. It would bring back the memory of the conversation from earlier. Lana was on vacation all week, so I didn't have to work, thank the lord. So, I went straight home and started on my homework.

I have a history of not being able to focus while there is something on my mind that's bothering me. Right now, it was defiantly coming into play. What happened to Jasmine and Valentina? Are they ok? Are they **alive**? I looked at the empty box of pizza next to me and then the clock on the other side of me. 9:30. It's been eight hours. Not being able to handle it anymore, I got up and decided to go for a walk. I had to clear my head. Leaving a note for my mom in case she arrived back home while I was out, I headed out the front door and into the cool San Francisco night. The sky was cloudless and you could see all the stars. There was the slightest cold breeze, but it felt good. What else would you expect in February though? I continued my walk, walking by the coffee shop and Lana's store. I paused and looked through the window to her store. I still couldn't shake him out of my mind. He's done so much for me and I repay him with pain. Something had to be done. I continued my walk, which ended up right outside his penthouse. I walked in, smiled at the man by the front counter (George, I think), and walked straight into the elevator, heading up to the floor that it like my second home. Getting off, I walked down the long narrow hallway, eventually leading to a corner. Around that corner was another corner. Around that corner, was a door. I lightly knocked. Opening the door was the tall blonde Brit…in his pajamas? It's not every day you see Alek without his shirt and wearing pajama bottoms. I checked my phone for a second. 11 o'clock. Hmm, long walk.

"Chloe? Something wrong? This has to be important if your waking me up from my beauty sleep." He gave me a very tired smirk and rubbed his eyes, letting out a yawn also.

"We need to talk." I say, placing my hand on his bare chest, pushing him back so I could step inside.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"_We need to talk." I say, placing my hand on his bare chest, pushing him back so I could step inside._

Alek just stared at me blankly and shrugged, closing the door and following me into the living room.

"What do you need now King? I was in the middle of something." He asked tiredly, sitting in the black leather loveseat sort of next to the matching couch that I way sitting on.

"Where's Jasmine?" I ask straight up. Alek's face goes cold, like he's seen a ghost. He looks around, runs a hand through his hair, pops his knuckles. He basically does anything to stall the answer, hoping I would move on and/or forget.

"She is um…on a business trip…with Valentina. Yeah. They had to go to New York all week. They left Saturday because Jasmine wanted to do some sight-seeing." Alek answers. His voice was calm yet I could hear that bit of nervousness in his voice.

"Nice lie. Now fess up. Where is she? Really. And where is Valentina?" I ask, a bit annoyed. I know Jasmine better than he thinks I do. She's all business when it comes to Mai trips. She wouldn't think of sight-seeing.

"What makes you think I'm lieing?" He asks with the same tone.

"Did you know that I have ears and very well hearing because I'm Mai?"

"Where are you going with this?" His brown eyes narrow at me.

"I heard you and Amy talking at school today. Now fess up." I say.

Again, his face goes white. He lets out a long sigh and looks down at the ground, burying his face in his hands. After a couple minutes, he moves one of the hands through his blonde hair and looks at me. "After I left your house on Friday..."

"So let me get this straight. Zane was a traitor, he injured Jasmine and Valentina, he's your brother, and you killed him?" I look at Alek. He nods in response. Over the past thirty minutes, he explained to me everything that went on that night. In return, I had to answer all of Alek's questions about me and my night, starting with my father's emails and how it was a trick too getting shot by the red-haired lady and Brian kissing me.

"So is Brian dead _now_?" Alek asked, a bit of hope in his voice.

"I'm not sure. Probably. Paul mentioned that there is always the possibility that he is paralyzed, but I doubt it." I let out a shaky breath and look at Alek. He's looking back at me and stands up, walking over to me, plopping down beside me on the leather couch.

"You ok Chloe? Honestly?" He softly asks. "You're shaking and that's not a good sign. Here, hold on." He gets up and walks to his room. A few minutes later, he comes back with a sweatshirt and sits next to me on the couch again.

"Here. Sorry, but with Jasmine and Valentina away, I'm not allowed in their rooms. And to make sure I don't go in there, they locked their doors." He has the smallest smile on his face and lets out a small chuckle. "I hope this will do." He hands me on of the school basketball sweatshirts that the players get. I look at it for a brief second, realizing that it's his favorite sweatshirt. It's also the sweatshirt most of the basketball players' girlfriends wear.

I smile at him. "Thanks." I say, slipping it on. Just as I pictured, it smelled like him. The Ralph Lauren cologne (though he would never admit that), the shampoo, the infamous Old Spice deodorant. Everything was there!

"You better go. I don't want your mom to worry." I smiled a bit more when he said 'mom.' I always loved how the British accent made it sound like 'mum.' It was so cute.

I got up and walked to the door. I turned and looked at him. "Sorry for waking you. Obviously you need sleep." I say with a laugh. I didn't mean beauty sleep but actual sleep. The black and purple bags under his brown eyes were growing bigger, and it pained me to think that I was the reason for causing them. I opened the door when I heard Alek call me name.

"Landon or what's his face will be watching you until further notice. I can't because of family issues obviously." I loved the way he said that too. Instead of obviousLEE is sounded like obviousLAY. Again, it's so cute. I nod and turn back to the door. "And Chloe?" I turn around again. "I hope to see you at the game this Friday. It would be nice to have _some_ support there." He winked and smirked at me, then left to go back to bed. I rolled my eyes and let myself out.

It was midnight when I got home. Thankfully, my mom wasn't home yet. I walked up to my room and changed into my pajamas: a simple grey V-neck shirt and some navy blue flannel pants covered in small purple polka dots. I slowly climbed into bed and passed out seconds later, satisfied with my day and how I finally got all the answers I was looking for…well…almost all.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

_I slowly climbed into bed and passed out seconds later, satisfied with my day and how I finally got all the answers I was looking for…well…almost all._

**Tuesday**

Tuesday morning was not as bad I expected it to be. When I woke up, I wasn't tired, or depressed, or angry. I didn't feel like crying. I didn't think of anyone. I was just…Chloe. And I've always loved that feeling. My mother still wasn't home when I arrived downstairs. She's been working a lot lately so I really wasn't expecting to see her anyways. I did my daily before-school routine and headed off to school. Pretty simple morning…I liked that.

When I arrived at school, two of the yellow buses were outside the school. It then dawned on me that the basketball team was leaving, meaning Alek was leaving. I was somewhat relieved that I wouldn't see him for four days (they are leaving Saturday night to return home), but I was also a little sad. I still wanted to talk to him but about some things and I didn't want to end it all on last night. I walked to the back of the crowd as they watched the basketball team walk out. I watched as some of the perky cheerleaders screamed and ran over to their boyfriends, giving them-good bye hugs and kisses as if they were leaving to go to war. I held back a laugh. Didn't they know that they were leaving Friday morning to go to the game? Obviously not. Suddenly, the crowd roared, as the star basketball player walked out. You really couldn't see him as all the single cheerleaders surrounded him, giving him hugs and wishing him good luck. I just stayed there in the back. I wasn't really even that interested in this but they were blocking my way to the main door that lead to the school. Slowly, the crowd of girls cleared, and I got a good look at Alek.

The basketball team was required to wear their jerseys for their departure, and I didn't mind that one bit. The jersey was snug on Alek, but not too snug. You could see his strong chest, shoulder, and back muscles perfectly. They were sleeveless, letting everyone see Alek's biceps and triceps. The light from the sun shining off of his skin made them him look god like. I sorta forgot how big there were, though I really didn't pay attention to them last night. My knees got weak at that sight. Wait, what's wrong with me? Shouldn't I be thinking of something else? I looked over at Alek again, and this time, he was looking back. Damn, he found me. He had the smallest smile on his face, and it was actually a smile. I smiled back and gave him a small wave. I could tell he was happy. Jasmine and Valentina never really came to his games and I could tell that hurt him, though he would never admit it. He got on the bus and the doors closed. Slowly, the two buses departed and the bell rang signaling that we had to get inside. "Good luck Alek." I mumbled as I walked up the concrete steps.

The morning went by fast and before I knew it, lunch arrived. I made sure Paul didn't leave me because I didn't want a re-run of yesterday. Even though the basketball jocko wasn't here, people heard and I've saw the looks the football players and wrestlers were giving me. It was like there we dogs and I was a big T-bone steak. Gross. We walked to the cafeteria together and sat at are usual table.

"Well don't you look pretty today?" Amy exclaimed. "It's so much better than your gothic look from yesterday!"

"I am insulted. That was not gothic!" I tell her. Today, I wore a blue, purple, and green floral tank top, white jeans, and some bright blue gladiator sandals. I had on a dark purple jacket to cover my arms on this chilly day. I let my naturally curly/wavy hair down, which somewhat hid my gold necklaces I wore today. I had some gold bangles and that was my outfit.

"Whatever you say." Amy says. She starts to dig into her salad that she got before Paul and I arrived. Paul gets up to go grab his lunch and I sit with Amy.

"So have you heard anything about Jasmine?" Amy asked me curiously. I look at her.

"What about Jasmine?" I ask. Even though I heard the conversation yesterday, I didn't hear the whole thing.

"Well…I talked to Alek yesterday and-."

"I know Amy." I interrupted. "I heard most of it yesterday when I came to my locker during gym." I told her a bit irritated. I still don't understand why Alek would talk to Amy rather than me. Well, he still could be mad.

"Well ok." She dragged out the sentence. "Anyways…Alek was talking to me and told me about Jasmine. He said that she is better and wants you to visit her after school. She should be awake by four so go see her then. Did you hear the Zane-?"

I interrupted again. "I talked to Alek last night and he explained everything." I look at Amy. Her mouth was hanging open. "What?" I asked nervously.

"You. Talked. To. His. Royal. HOTNESS? Last night! Oh my gosh what was he wearing? What did he say? I bet he-."

"Amy!" I shouted. She stopped babbling. "He told me everything that happened the other night, and I told him."

"So what happened when you told him that Brian kisses you?" She asked, chewing some of her lettuce.

"I swear he was going to go hunt Brian down and claw his face off." I tell her.

"He is _so_ hot when he gets jealous." More lettuce. "Don't you agree?"

I just sit there. I don't want to tell her that I agree and my heart flutters and the thought that he gets jealous over **me**, Chloe King. "Uh Amy, I gotta go." I tell her, standing up and walking out.

Three-thirty arrived before I knew it, meaning I had thirty minutes for free time before I had to visit Jasmine. I walked to the coffee shop next to Lana's store to grab a quick drink and snack beforehand. I got my usual cup with the usual amount of cream and sugar and also bought a cookie. I turned around, taking a bite of my cookie and almost dropped everything. Why, you might ask? Because sitting right there at our usual table, alive and unharmed, was the one and only, Brian Rezza.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

_Because sitting right there at our usual table, alive and unharmed, was the one and only, Brian Rezza._

"Brian?" I asked. I was mostly asking myself that question. Why was he alive? Shouldn't he be dead? I kissed him! Well he kisses me but…he should be dead!

"Hey Chloe." He managed, standing up and walking over to me. He slowly took my food out of my hands and gently placed it down on the table next to us. Slowly, he brought his big hands up to my cheeks, cupping my face. I looked into his big, mysterious green eyes as he stared back into my ocean blue ones. Slowly, his face inched closer to mine, his big red wet lips inching closer to my tiny pale pink gloss-covered ones. I felt his breathe right on them. He was so close to kissing me when-

"Mmhmm. Lovebirds, keep it moving." Someone in line said. Brian quickly backed away. 'Thank you!' I thought to myself. I slowly picked up my snack and followed Brian back to our table.

"You look great." He said in his low, husky voice as he took a seat.

"Thanks…um, so do you." I say, taking a sip of coffee as I took my usual seat across from him. He smiled at me. That smile…something about seemed so…devilish this time. Not his usual calm and relaxing smile but instead evil and demented. What has happened since that night?

"I had a feeling you would be here." He starts off. "We need to talk…about the other night." I nod. "So the other night, did….did you…die?" He says. I can tell he was getting nervous. His palms were sweating and I could hear the pace of his heart pick up.

"Well Brian," I nervously giggle, "you see, I was uh." Think Chloe, think! "Filming a movie!" I explain. "Amy, Paul, and I were filming a movie. Alek was doing the effects and shot of some blanks so-."

"Wait. Your _boy toy_ was there?" He stood up, his hands turning into fists and he placed them on the wooden table. "Chloe, I told you to stay away from him. He's bad news and I don't want you getting hurt."

I stood up and placed my hands on the table. "He is my _friend_ Brian. I'm a smart girl and I know how to handle myself." I check my phone on the table-3:55. "And now you're making me late. Sorry, but I have to go visit my boy toy's cousin. Have a problem with that?" I throw away my snack and storm out of the coffee shop, enraged and hurt. I can't believe Brain called Alek that. I thought he was my friend and that he understood. Then again, he was the guy who punched Alek and he thought that we are more than friends. I walked…well, ran, rhetorically speaking…to Jasmine's penthouse.

I arrived at the penthouse and slowly open the door. I walked inside and quietly closed the door. I looked over to the kitchen and saw something I would never expect to see. Sitting on the cold marble counter was a young, dark brunette, Spanish girl eating a bowl of buttered popcorn. She didn't seem as aware of her surroundings because I know that if she was, I would be pinned on the floor by now. Slowly, I walked over to her. "Jasmine?" I asked quietly. Her head shot up from the bowl and looked at me, her big brown eyes staring at mine.

"Chloe? You're ok!" Jasmine exclaimed, jumping of the counter and hobbling over to me, giving me a hug. I was in utter confusion and surprise. Why wouldn't I be ok? And has Jasmine's injury changed her into a business type girl to an affectionate one? Strange.

"So are you! Alek told me everything." I explain as we go sit at the island in the middle of their large kitchen. I look over at Jasmine, who stands across from me quietly, looking down at her bowl of popcorn. "Are you ok?" I ask quietly.

Jasmine looks up at me, her big brown eyes filled with tiny crystal clear tears. "I thought that I could actually date someone for once. But instead, I was hurt. I was weak and a fool." She mumbled. "I can't believe I let my guard down."

"Jasmine it's not your fault. No one expected this." I reassure her. She looks at me and nods, though I know she will never accept the fact and always believe that it is her fault. "So how's your mom?" I ask.

Jasmine lets out a long, shaky sigh. "She isn't doing so well. I mean I know that one day, something would happen where I would become pride leader, but I didn't think it would happen so soon." She eats a bit of popcorn as I nod. I've been doing that a lot lately. Am I turning into a bobble head? "So, Alek talked to me this morning." Jasmine says in a more serious tone. She straightens up and looks at me. "You died."

Well gee, thanks for obvious Captain. Before I know it, it's going to be the headline on every newspaper from here to Ukraine. "Yeah…I did. All because of my go-lucky happy idea that my father was alive, which, I am now certain, he is not." I say, grabbing the popcorn and eating it.

"You need to be more careful. You only have seven lives now Chloe."

"Yeah, yeah." I say, still munching on popcorn. "Did Alek tell you that Zane is his, quote on quote, brother?"

Jasmine's mouth dropped open. "What? He said he didn't have any family."

"Well he doesn't anymore. He killed him once he laid eyes on what he did to you guys." I tell her everything that Alek told me, how he is supposedly his long-lost younger older brother and how they were separated at the orphanage and whatnot. Jasmine just keeps staring at me. "And to make things weirder, Brian is alive, when he should be dead."

"Why should he be dead?"

"Well, he sorta kissed me after I was shot and last-."

"He **kissed** you?" What is up with people interrupting me lately?

"Yes. But I was dead so how is he not dead?"

Jasmine stand there at the island for a moment. "Follow me." We start to walk down the hallway. We stop at the last door on the right, which ends up being Valentina's office. I sit in one of the chairs as Jasmine rumbles around through the overstuffed bookshelves. She finally pulls out and old, worn, black book. Opening it, she starts to skim though the pages. After a few minutes of reading, Jasmine passes the book over to me.

"Read this." She says softly, almost apologetic like.

I feel my phone vibrate, but I ignore it. I start to read the lines next to Jasmine's finger.

_He who is kissed by any Mai shall be either paralyzed or die on the touch. To prevent from losing any man, doctors have come up with a complex and rare yet very effective antidote to heal any man if he is to be kissed by such creature._

Slowly, I close the book and look at the front cover. Information and Guidelines for the Order of San Francisco, it read. I look up at Jasmine, then back down at my lap as I slowly pull my phone out with shaking hands. I read the message.

_Srry bout 2day Chloe. Meet up 2morrow for coffee? –Brian_

I look up at Jasmine again, handing her my phone so she can read the message. I'm worried, nervous, and so much more. Thoughts are running through my head as I slowly stand up.

"You know what this means, right Chloe?" Jasmine asks me. I turn to her, my eyes filling with tears. "Brian is part of the Order."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

_"You know what this means, right Chloe?" Jasmine asks me. I turn to her, my eyes filling with tears. "Brian is part of the Order."_

Slowly, I sat back down. Shit. No, this was not the time for that word. I was more than that. This was a moment where you can use that word because it is something more. You had to bring out the big guns.

"Fuck…" I mumbled. The tears were gone as I slowly sat down in the chair again. I looked up at Jasmine, who seemed very surprised with my choice of words. She regained herself, and then went all into sophisticated Mai leader mode.

"By that text message, I'm guessing you saw him today." I nodded. "Sorry to break it to you, but you're going to have to see him again. And we are going to have to think of a plan. Should we kill him or set a tracking device or-."

"If you're going to kill him, at least wait until Alek is back home. He would love to do that." I explain to Jasmine.

"Speaking of Alek, he wanted you to call him. I'm not sure why though."

I nod, standing up and walking over to the door. I was about to walk down the hallway when I turned back around. "Jasmine?" She turned to look at me. "Your mother is the most organized person I know," I start off, "so why did it take you so long to find the book?"

"Well it wasn't in its usual spot. It moved somehow." That's all I needed to hear.

I walked away from the office and down the hallway. I should've known that someone moved the book. And I knew who that someone was. I got out my phone and dialed Alek's number. He answered on the first ring.

"Couldn't resist me King?" He said in that cocky British accent.

"How did you know?" I went straight to the point.

"How long did I know what?" He asked quit confused.

"Don't fuck with me Alek, how long did you know?" I was getting irritated.

"I believe in fucking after marriage Chloe." Alek said coolly and calmly. I couldn't believe that at a time like this, he's making jokes. Especially a joke thats a lie because I know he wouldn't wait until marriage for sex.

"**ALEK**!" I was pissed now. "I know about Brian. I know he is alive." I practically screamed into the phone.

Alek was dead silent, almost like last night. It's amazing how much has happened within these last twenty-four hours. "I was following you to school yesterday morning," he started out, "and he walked into the coffee shop a couple minutes after you left. I couldn't believe it myself so I went and got a closer look. It was him, so I came back to Valentina's and-."

"You read the book. Jasmine and I just read it and you left some clues hinting that you read it to." I told him calmly. "How come you didn't tell me?"

Alek was quiet for a couple seconds. "So how is the weather there? It's nice and sunny here and-."

"Alek…" I whined a bit.

I heard him let out a long sigh. "Do you know how hard it is for me to watch you be with him Chloe? Every time I see you two together, my heart breaks a bit. It sounds so ridiculous to say that, but it's true. I don't have those dreamy green eyes you always talk about or those big arms muscles," he paused, and I knew that he was thinking about how he just lied to the both of us. Has Alek ever seen his own muscles? "My point is Chloe, I'm tired of watching, tired of telling you to stop seeing him. He's trouble, and you know that. Don't say he isn't because now you know he's in the Order." And with that, Alek hung up on me.

I ended up staring out the large windows that was basically a wall in the penthouse. I was staring at it the entire conversation. I turned around, locking my phone, and almost died from Jasmine. What is up with them always scaring me?

"So did you hear that?" I asked her. Of course she did!

Jasmine nodded, walking towards me. "He was going to find out sooner or later. Be glad that it was sooner."

She sat in the couch. I followed, sitting beside her. "So what's our plan?" I ask her.

"Well, you need to make a date with him first. From then, we will follow his moves. If we see him do anything suspicious, then we know that he knows about the Mai and the Order. If not, than we wait until he makes his move."

I let out a sigh and look at the ground. I hear Jasmine shift around a bit uncomfortably. "Something wrong?" I ask her.

"Um…well there was just this thing on my mind. It's nothing really."

"C'mon Jasmine. It's obviously something." I look up and look at her.

"Well before I left for my date the other night, Alek came home and he was really pissed off." She looks at me. "If he tells you otherwise, it's a lie." I nod as she continues. "He seemed really mad, as I just said, but there was also a certain sadness in his eyes."

I let out a shaky breathe, knowing exactly why he was like that.

"Is there something you have to tell me Chloe?"

"Well…you see Jasmine…funny story…"

"Chloe. Spit it out."

"I was having a conversation with my mom. We were talking about Brian. I may have told her that I was thinking I was in love with Brian, and Alek was in my bedroom and because he is Alek and he is Mai, he overheard me say that."

Jasmine just stared at me, her eyes real wide. "Chloe, we are forbidden to love humans. It's like a rule. We can't have relationships what-so-ever. They don't work!" Really…that's what she was thinking about?

"I know! But you need to hear the rest of my story. Alek and I got into an argument. He stormed off and I was left in my room alone, which explains why Alek was mad and everything."

Jasmine slightly nods, bringing in all the information.

"Also, there might be a huge detail that might make our whole lives a bit different and more complicated."

"Well what is it? I'm sure we can handle it."

I let out a shaky breath and swallow. "I told my mom that I didn't want to love Brian. I'm not sure if Alek picked up on that."

Jasmine straightened up. "Chloe…no…you can't. Not now!"

"I'm sorry Jasmine but I can't control my feelings." It was true. I'm an almost typical teenage girl. What more do you expect.

Jasmine let out a breath and calmed down a bit. "So just say what you mean. I think I know what you mean but I could be wrong."

"I don't want to be in love with Brian. I want to be in love with Alek."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"_I don't want to be in love with Brian. I want to be in love with Alek."_

Jasmine burst out laughing immediately. It was a better reaction then what I had thought would happen. "You're…you're in love…with…a British…dofus!" She explained to me in between laughs. I just rolled my eyes.

"I gotta go Jasmine. Call me tomorrow when you figure out a plan for the whole…situation." I get off the couch and walk to the door, hearing Jasmine bawling in laughter as I walk out the door of the penthouse.

The cool breeze slammed against my face as I began my walk home. My teeth were chattering and I could feel the goose bumps rise on my cold skin. As I walked, my thoughts began to wander back to the conversation about that sexy, blonde, British Mai. Did I really want to be in love with him? Of course I do! Even though he teases me and makes fun of me, it's what he does. Brian is sweet and nice and fun, but he's too normal. Alek isn't normal. I had to laugh at that thought, considering he is Mai, like me. But Brian is four years older than me, while Alek is a just over four months. I've always thought that relationships between people with an over two years age range was odd. There was more to this though. I know of Alek's past, and he hasn't gotten the love he deserves. Not from his adoptive parents, or Mimi, or even Valentina and Jasmine. He deserves it for everything he does, from me most of all. Who knows how many times he's saved my ass. Now, I was going to save his. Brian just didn't seem to fit into this picture anymore. He needs someone else out there that is more compatible for him.

By the time I arrived home, I was worn out. I dragged myself up the stairs like the night before and collapsed on my bed. I didn't feel like changing out of my clothes or doing anything for that matter. I was tired, sad, angry, confused. I felt like a rainbow of mixed emotions. I sat up and walked to my window, looking out at the night sky. The stars were beautiful that night. I couldn't help but picture his eyes and how much they (the stars) reminded me of them. If I only I knew that he was looking out at the night sky also and thinking the same thought about me.

**Wednesday**

"You're _in love_ with him! It's about time Miss Chloe King." Amy squealed at me during lunch. I just rolled me eyes and ate one of the carrots from the infamous King salad, loaded with lettuce, ham, chicken, carrots, cherry tomatoes, a little bit of purple cabbage, some onion, garlic croutons, sunflower seeds, bacon bits, all tossed in a light vinaigrette (I hate ranch). It's a salad fit for a king.

"I'm not sure. I think I am but it's hard to tell. He keeps thinking he's the second choice and stuff. I'm just confused now." It was true. Last night, I was one-hundred percent positive that I loved him. But then I got to thinking if I really did. I've always been a bit indecisive.

"So do Mai mate and have kittens? Or are they like humans? Or do they even have kittens? Oh, maybe they-."

"Paul, we have still humans. Our relationships are like humans' relationships. There is no mating. We aren't animals." I told him. He seemed a bit disappointed. "But," he straightened up a bit, "I still need to ask Jasmine about that. She called me this morning and said there was something she wanted to talk about when it comes to love with Mais. I'll tell you about it later." I told him, eating more salad. We sat in silence for most of lunch, occasionally talking about things going on, like how annoying the cheerleaders have gotten recently due to their boyfriends being gone. No matter what we talked about, Alek always seemed to be involved.

Before I knew it, four o'clock came. I was sitting in the coffee shop, my cup of coffee sitting on the glass table in front of me. I had my phone out, scrolling through the detailed messages about the plan Jasmine had sent me. To sum it up, we had guards around the building hidden so they weren't visible to other people. They would listen in on the conversation and report anything suspicious or unusual to Jasmine. I was also to record the conversation on my phone, to see if that gave anything away either. On the other side of the shop, there was a guard who would watch Brian's facial expression, as well as me who would also. The smile he gave me yesterday seemed odd for that moment, and I wanted to know why.

Brian arrived ten minutes late, as usual. That was another thing I like about Alek. He was never late, but instead, super early. He put me first, where I Brian would just take his time doing who knows what and keep me waiting. Brian sat down across from me.

"Hey." He said with a smile. The smile again looked devilish and evil. I whispered that, knowing the other Mai would hear me. I saw him scribble it down on a piece of paper out of the corner of me eye.

"Hi Brian!" I say happily and cheerfully, like nothing was wrong.

"Well someone seems happy. Something good happen to you today?"

"Um…yeah. We got an 'A' on our movie. We worked really hard on it so I'm glad we got the grade we deserve." Lies. But I bet we would. That movie would've been great.

"Nice job." Brian says sincerely with a smile. What is up with that smile?

"So it there something you wanted to talk about Brian? Like _apologize_?" I really enunciated the word, hoping he would get the hint.

"So about last week Chloe," he didn't get the hint, "why didn't you answer me when I was trying to wake you? I thought you were dead."

"Brian, it was for a class. I was acting! I couldn't ruin the script or else my friends would kill me for doing it!" I stood up a bit angered. "Why do you care anyways?"

Brian stood up also, his newly formed fists hitting the table. "Because I'm supposed to protect you from people like that man-whore of a friend. How much do you want to bet that your movie buddy is out in some girl's pants right now!"

My face softened and tears filled my eyes. My heart ached. I couldn't believe he just said that to me. His jaw muscles were tense. I don't even think he knew what he just said to me. Slowly, I looked at him, tears blurring my vision. "Brian, I can't do this anymore. I can't keep pretending that I think it's you. It's always been that man-whore I've loved. And he's not like that either." I bring in a shaky breath. "But he's more than a man you will ever be. I'm sorry Brian, but we can't see each other anymore. We can't be friends, not anything." And with that, I walked out of the coffee shop.


	8. Important Note to ALL Readers!

**ELLO LOVES!**

Sorry doesn't even begin about how bad I feel for not uploading in like what? FOUR MONTHS! Life was hectic and crazy with the beginning of high school and club soccer and family sports and what not.

But guess what? It's December...meaning that school is just a go-with-the-flow type of deal and the only sport is played on Saturday afternoons! That means I can upload more often!

I plan to upload Chapter Eight at the end of the week...actually...by the end of the week. I really want to finish the book. IT"S KILLING ME THAT IT IS NOT FINISHED YET!

So anyways, I hope you enjoy as much as I have so far. Please keep reviewing and sharing or whatever you do. I thank everyone who has been a part of my 1,000+ views! That's amazing!

Also, for anyone interested, I have a Wattpad account. Wattpad is a website that you can create your own books at! If any of you are interested in reading outside my own little Chalek universe, go to this link:

Or not xD Wattpad is updating at the moment. Find me at the username of TurquoiseDots. I'll post a link in a later chapter.

Also, I hope you all had a very merry and jolly Christmas! I know I did!

With love and Chalek wishes,

~Claire


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 8**

_"But he's more than a man you will ever be. I'm sorry Brian, but we can't see each other anymore. We can't be friends, not anything." And with that, I walked out of the coffee shop._

**Friday**

There was absolutely no point in going to school on Thursday. We did _nothing_. We would go to each class and sit in our seats in silence (except for P.E…in that class we would sit on the gym floor in silence). Lunch was typical. I sat and attempted to talk to Amy and not get interrupted by Paul's annoying Mai questions. After lunch, we would all go onto our next classes.

It was hard not thinking about Brian. I hurt him. Then again, he hurt me first. He was _always_ making fun of Alek, and it wasn't even funny. It was rude. He called him a man-whore and yet Alek hasn't slept with anyone. I'm positive that the farthest he's gone is just his heavy and heated make-out sessions.

I think. Maybe he has? No…

But what does Brian have to say? He's the man-whore. I was right to never see him again. As soon as I 'broke up' with him, he already had another girl under his spell. There were probably more of them back home at his college.

After long hours of doing nothing at school and at work and then at my house, I went to bed. I don't know how long I stayed in the position, but it seemed like an eternity. I was looking up at the ceiling, my hands behind my head-a very Alek-like move. I couldn't handle it any longer. I climbed out of my bed and made my way over to the window, climbing out of that as well. I sat on the roof, the air blowing against my bare skin. Goosebumps made their way up my arms and legs. My hair was tied up in a loose ponytail, causing only a few little curls to blow around me. I brought my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them, attempting to keep warm. My eyes managed to make their way up to gaze at the twinkle stars. It was another beautiful night in San Francisco. I slowly settled myself on the rough roof, the shingles giving me a few small scratches along my lower arm and thighs. The last image I had in my mind was the glow of the stars before my eyelids won the battle and swept me off into a deep sleep.

I woke up about halfway through the day. The rays from the sun were warm and inviting and even a bit persuasive. They gave me the thought to just lay on my roof in my shorts and t-shirt forever. They were warming my whole body, not to mention giving me the slightest tan. I was actually very surprised that it was this warm, considering the past couple days it has been very cool.

All good things must come to an end, and that happened to me. Eventually, I slid off my roof and back into my room. My mother still had work, so she was off in an office downtown. Everything in my room was in the exact same spot as it was in last night, meaning that she didn't even bother to check to see if I was in my room, let alone if I was alive.

I took a long shower, cleaning off everything from the particles on the roof to even the intoxicating smell of Alek that was left on me from his sweatshirt. Everything was gone, and I felt like I had a clean start at something for once.

I slipped on the first thing I could find and threw my hair into a messy bun. I walked downstairs, my stomach growling. I searched through the cabinets, looking for something appetizing and appealing to eat. There was a wide range of cereal, a bowl of fruit on the island, some frozen foods that took effort to heat up, and leftovers that tasted perfectly fine when chilled.

I settled on just making a bowl of cereal for breakfast. It was quick and easy. I just sat down and stuck a spoonful of cinnamon deliciousness when my phone started to vibrate. I picked it up and held it to my ear only to hear the loud, high-pitched squeal of Amy. I held the phone away from me, my face scrunching together a bit from the ear-drum bursting sound. Once it stopped, I brought it back.

"We need to go watch His Royal Hotness tonight. Picture it…his arm reaching up to shoot the ball. I can see his bicep flexing this very moment. And his messy golden waves. Ugh, it's beautiful."

"I didn't know you knew so much about basketball," I said in between mouthfuls of cereal.

"I don't. I just go to watch the hot jockos play with a ball." I knew she was trying to be funny. I could also hear Paul's snicker in the background.

I was about to say something when I could hear Jasmine's voice. She was directing Amy to give her the phone. "Chloe? You need to come over…I found something that it of great importance."

"Ok, sure." I set my spoon down and walked around, grabbing my bag and keys. "But why are you using Amy's phone? You could've called from your own phone."

"I did," she replied. "But you never answered."

I took this time to look down at my phone. I checked the home screen and sure enough, it had four missed calls from Jasmine. I held it back to my ear. "I'll be over in a few minutes.

I hung up and walked out the front door. It was too nice of a day to drive my car, so I walked instead. My mind wandered on what could be of this great importance. Finally, I thought of exactly what could be this important that she called.

If it was Valentina, she would come straight to my house. If it was my friends, she would call and then come to my house. But for some odd reason, she only called when the topic was about Alek.


End file.
